Sort of a tangent from the Bachmann thread. With the little guy sick and stuck indoors this weekend I have been reading/watching coverage and I was curious about TCF's opinions on Jon Huntsman and Herman Cain?

Cain has had great success in the private sector and fared well in Iowa (3rd place with 10%), but as Clayman pointed out in the Bachmann thread lack of political experience can be used both for and against a candidate depending on what side of the fence the critic resides.

Huntsman seems to be just the opposite. The guy has an impressive resume of political experience, both in executive and as an abassador across party lines. He does have the religious stigma with him however, and his social views will be scrutinized to no end (not that I'm suggesting that scrutiny is necessarily a bad thing).

Thoughts? Opinions? Either of these guys a real threat at this point, iyo?

"Dammit you piss me off. I f#ckin hate you and I hope you f#cking get killed by a rabid polar bear you douche bag."

Being a registered Republican, I've followed the campaigns pretty closely. I haven't seen anything that would disqualify any of the declared candidates for the GOP nomination -- yet.

Cain's supposed biggest drawback is that he's never held elective office. That's not a disqualifier in my mind, but it might speak to his ability to survive a presidential campaign without some major missteps, because it's a wringer, and he's never experienced anything even close to it.

As for Huntsman, I met him and his wife -- shook his hand and chatted -- during a reception at the Singapore ambassador's mansion in 1993. Was very, very impressed then, and still am now. If I had to choose one of the candidates to pal around with, he'd be my guy. That's not a presidential qualification, though -- I said the same thing about W in 2000!

At this point, there's a lot to learn about all the GOP candidates (and we will, if we choose to). To this point, my favorite based solely on (mostly economic) issues, I like most what I'm hearing from Gary Johnson, who hasn't gotten a lot of publicity. But (again, a very early feeling), I don't think I'll be disappointed with whomever survives the primaries and caucuses.

Frankly, I don't give a crap about social issues. If a woman wants to have an abortion, that's her decision, not the state's. If two guys want to get "married," that's their decision, not the state's. As long as the federal government doesn't fund them in any way.

I'm pretty sure Huntsman Junior is a damned good man who comes from damned good stock. Huntsman Senior has given more than $1.2 billion to charity, including $250 million to the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City. And Junior's résumé is exactly what I"m looking for in a president (see his Wikipedia entry).

They say he's a fiscal conservative. They say he leans more to the center-right than some of the other GOP hopefuls. Both of those "qualifications" make him, at this point, a good darkhorse candidate, IMHO, because he will appeal to moderates and independents when they get to know him.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Junior and Mitt battle it out next spring, after all the other candidates have fallen by the wayside for one reason or another. Just my opinion.